Uria aalge

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	ALCIDAE

Scientific Name:

Uria aalge

Species Authority:

(Pontoppidan, 1763)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Common Guillemot, Common Murre, Guillemot
French	–	Guillemot de Troïl

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2009	–	Least Concern
2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Common Guillemot has a circumpolar distribution, occuring in the low-arctic and boreal waters of the north Atlantic and north Pacific (del Hoyo et al. 1996).
Countries:	Native: Belgium; Canada; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Greenland; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Latvia; Lithuania; Mexico; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Spain; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; United Kingdom; United States Vagrant: Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Gibraltar; Malta; Mauritania; Morocco; Romania; Switzerland Present - origin uncertain: Algeria; Cape Verde; Gambia; Monaco; Senegal; Tunisia; Western Sahara
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The global population is estimated to number > c.18,000,000 individuals (del Hoyo et al. 1996), while national population sizes have been estimated at < c.100 breeding pairs and c.50-10,000 wintering individuals in Japan and c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009).
Population Trend:	Increasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour The Common Guillemot is a pursuit-diving marine bird which forages primarily during daylight. One parent remains at the colony with the chick whilst the other is on a foraging trip. Birds departing colonies usually splash-down to form large rafts close to the colony before departing to foraging areas. External radio tagging has been shown to adversely effect breeding (Wanless et al. 1988, Nevins 2004), whereas birds fitted with internal transmitters behaved as normal (Wanless et al. 1988). Diet During the breeding season, schooling pelagic fish species are the most important prey for adults, though benthic species can also be important.In Labrador, Canada, Shannies (Sticheaidae) were the main source of food, comprising 84% of the diet in 1996 and 52.9% in 1997 (Bryant and Jones 1999). Capelin (Mallotus villosus) were also important, forming 44.7% of the diet in 1997 (Bryant and Jones 1999). In the UK, the main prey taxa are sandeel (Ammodytes spp.) and clupeids. Small gadoids are also important at some colonies. Foraging range This species dives to maximum depths of 170-230m. During the breeding season, surveys recorded the highest densities of birds in the 51 - 100 m depth zone, although birds were still abundant in water less than 50 m and 101 - 200 m deep. Very few were seen in deeper areas (Wanless et al. 1990). The foraging range of this species appears variable across seasons and years. At the Isle of May, Scotland, during 1986 around 70% of foraging trips were over 7 km from the colony, whereas in the following year the birds tended to make shorter trips (Wanless et al. 1990). Foraging trips in eastern Canada are within 100 km (Cairns et al. 1987, Davoren et al. 2003), and in Pribilof Islands, Alaska, foraging occurred mostly within 60 km. In Witless Bay, Newfoundland, foraging aggregations formed over large Capelin schools within 5 km of breeding sites. Along the Newfoundland coastline, aggregations occurred within 15 km of the colonies, and at an offshore ridge about 80 km southeast of the colonies. Despite these large foraging radii, waters close to the colony were the most frequent destination of feeding birds. This was particularly true during chick rearing, when only one third of feeding trips could have exceeded 10 km from the colony (Cairns et al. 1987). In Pribilof Islands, Alaska, birds showed a consistent preference for shallower waters (Schneider and Hunt 1984). High densities of foraging birds have also been observed foraging over a submarine ridge (Coyle et al. 1992). In Kachemak Bay, Alaska, it appears that birds tend to feed over rocky substrates in water depths of about 18 to 55 m (Sanger G.A. 1987). They have also been observed to forage in riptides (Wanless et al. 1990), and in areas of sandy sediment suitable for sandeels (Wanless et al. 1998, BirdLife International 2000). Near Flamborough Head, UK, the Farallones, California, and Pribilof Islands, Alaska, birds forage at fronts between thermally distinct bodies of water. In the UK example, this occurs at a seasonally-occuring front between thermally-mixed and thermally-stratified water, whereas in the Farallones, the front was between cold and salty upwellings and estuarine outflow (Decker and Hunt 1996, BirdLife International 2000).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour The Common Guillemot is a pursuit-diving marine bird which forages primarily during daylight. One parent remains at the colony with the chick whilst the other is on a foraging trip. Birds departing colonies usually splash-down to form large rafts close to the colony before departing to foraging areas. External radio tagging has been shown to adversely effect breeding (Wanless et al. 1988, Nevins 2004), whereas birds fitted with internal transmitters behaved as normal (Wanless et al. 1988). Diet During the breeding season, schooling pelagic fish species are the most important prey for adults, though benthic species can also be important.In Labrador, Canada, Shannies (Sticheaidae) were the main source of food, comprising 84% of the diet in 1996 and 52.9% in 1997 (Bryant and Jones 1999). Capelin (Mallotus villosus) were also important, forming 44.7% of the diet in 1997 (Bryant and Jones 1999). In the UK, the main prey taxa are sandeel (Ammodytes spp.) and clupeids. Small gadoids are also important at some colonies. Foraging range This species dives to maximum depths of 170-230m. During the breeding season, surveys recorded the highest densities of birds in the 51 - 100 m depth zone, although birds were still abundant in water less than 50 m and 101 - 200 m deep. Very few were seen in deeper areas (Wanless et al. 1990). The foraging range of this species appears variable across seasons and years. At the Isle of May, Scotland, during 1986 around 70% of foraging trips were over 7 km from the colony, whereas in the following year the birds tended to make shorter trips (Wanless et al. 1990). Foraging trips in eastern Canada are within 100 km (Cairns et al. 1987, Davoren et al. 2003), and in Pribilof Islands, Alaska, foraging occurred mostly within 60 km. In Witless Bay, Newfoundland, foraging aggregations formed over large Capelin schools within 5 km of breeding sites. Along the Newfoundland coastline, aggregations occurred within 15 km of the colonies, and at an offshore ridge about 80 km southeast of the colonies. Despite these large foraging radii, waters close to the colony were the most frequent destination of feeding birds. This was particularly true during chick rearing, when only one third of feeding trips could have exceeded 10 km from the colony (Cairns et al. 1987). In Pribilof Islands, Alaska, birds showed a consistent preference for shallower waters (Schneider and Hunt 1984). High densities of foraging birds have also been observed foraging over a submarine ridge (Coyle et al. 1992). In Kachemak Bay, Alaska, it appears that birds tend to feed over rocky substrates in water depths of about 18 to 55 m (Sanger G.A. 1987). They have also been observed to forage in riptides (Wanless et al. 1990), and in areas of sandy sediment suitable for sandeels (Wanless et al. 1998, BirdLife International 2000). Near Flamborough Head, UK, the Farallones, California, and Pribilof Islands, Alaska, birds forage at fronts between thermally distinct bodies of water. In the UK example, this occurs at a seasonally-occuring front between thermally-mixed and thermally-stratified water, whereas in the Farallones, the front was between cold and salty upwellings and estuarine outflow (Decker and Hunt 1996, BirdLife International 2000).

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Bibliography [top]

	BirdLife International. 2000. The Development of Boundary Selection Criteria for the Extension of Breeding Seabird Special Protection Areas into the Marine Environment. OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic. Vlissingen (Flushing). Brazil, M. 2009. Birds of East Asia: eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London. Bryant, R.B. and Jones, I.L. 1999. Food resource use and diet overlap of common and thick-billed murres at the Gannet Islands, Labrador. Waterbirds 22(2): 392-400. Cairns, D.K., Bredin, K.A. and Montevecchi, W.A. 1987. Activity budgets and foraging ranges of breeding common murres. Auk 104: 218-224. Coyle, K.O., Hunt, G.L., Decker, M.B. and Weingartner, T.J. 1992. Murre foraging, epibenthic sound scattering and tidal advection over a shoal near St-George Island, Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 83(1): 1-14. Davoren, G.K., Montevecchi, W.A. and Anderson, J.T. 2003. The influence of fish behaviour on search strategies of common murres Uria aalge in the northwest Atlantic. Marine Ornithology 31(2): 123-131. Decker, M.B. and Hunt, G. 1996. Foraging by murres (Uria spp.) at tidal fronts surrounding the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 139: 1-10. del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Fredriksen, M.; Harris, M. P.; Daunt, F.; Rothery, P.; Wanless, S. 2004. Scale-dependent climate signals drive breeding phenology of three seabird species. Global Change Biology 10: 1214-1221. IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012). Nevins, H.M. 2004. Diet, demography and diving behaviour of the common murre (Uria aalge) in central California. MSc Thesis. Sandvik, H.; Erikstad, K. E;, Barrett, R. T.; Yoccoz, N. G. 2005. The effect of climate on adult survival in five species of North Atlantic seabirds. Journal of Animal Ecology 74: 817-831. Sanger G. A. 1987. Winter diets of Common Murres and Marbled Murrelets in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Condor 891: 426-430. Vandenbosch, R. 2000. Effects of ENSO and PDO events on seabird populations as revealed by Christmas Bird Count data. Waterbirds 23: 416-422. Wanless, S., Harris, M.P. and Greenstreet, S.P.R. 1998. Summer sandeel consumption by seabirds breeding in the Firth of Forth, south-east Scotland. ICES Journal of Marine Science 55(6): 1141-1151. Wanless, S., Harris, M.P. and Morris, J.A. 1990. A comparison of feeding areas used by individual common murres (Uria aalge) razorbills (Alca torda) and an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) during the breeding season. Colonial Waterbirds 13: 16-24. Wanless S; Morris J. A; Harris M. P. 1988. Diving behavior of guillemot uria-aalge, puffin fratercula-arctica and razorbill alca-torda as shown by radio-telemetry. Journal of Zoology 216: 73-81.

BirdLife International. 2000. The Development of Boundary Selection Criteria for the Extension of Breeding Seabird Special Protection Areas into the Marine Environment. OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic. Vlissingen (Flushing).

Brazil, M. 2009. Birds of East Asia: eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London.

Bryant, R.B. and Jones, I.L. 1999. Food resource use and diet overlap of common and thick-billed murres at the Gannet Islands, Labrador. Waterbirds 22(2): 392-400.

Cairns, D.K., Bredin, K.A. and Montevecchi, W.A. 1987. Activity budgets and foraging ranges of breeding common murres. Auk 104: 218-224.

Coyle, K.O., Hunt, G.L., Decker, M.B. and Weingartner, T.J. 1992. Murre foraging, epibenthic sound scattering and tidal advection over a shoal near St-George Island, Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 83(1): 1-14.

Davoren, G.K., Montevecchi, W.A. and Anderson, J.T. 2003. The influence of fish behaviour on search strategies of common murres Uria aalge in the northwest Atlantic. Marine Ornithology 31(2): 123-131.

Decker, M.B. and Hunt, G. 1996. Foraging by murres (Uria spp.) at tidal fronts surrounding the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 139: 1-10.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Fredriksen, M.; Harris, M. P.; Daunt, F.; Rothery, P.; Wanless, S. 2004. Scale-dependent climate signals drive breeding phenology of three seabird species. Global Change Biology 10: 1214-1221.

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012).

Nevins, H.M. 2004. Diet, demography and diving behaviour of the common murre (Uria aalge) in central California. MSc Thesis.

Sandvik, H.; Erikstad, K. E;, Barrett, R. T.; Yoccoz, N. G. 2005. The effect of climate on adult survival in five species of North Atlantic seabirds. Journal of Animal Ecology 74: 817-831.

Sanger G. A. 1987. Winter diets of Common Murres and Marbled Murrelets in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Condor 891: 426-430.

Vandenbosch, R. 2000. Effects of ENSO and PDO events on seabird populations as revealed by Christmas Bird Count data. Waterbirds 23: 416-422.

Wanless, S., Harris, M.P. and Greenstreet, S.P.R. 1998. Summer sandeel consumption by seabirds breeding in the Firth of Forth, south-east Scotland. ICES Journal of Marine Science 55(6): 1141-1151.

Wanless, S., Harris, M.P. and Morris, J.A. 1990. A comparison of feeding areas used by individual common murres (Uria aalge) razorbills (Alca torda) and an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) during the breeding season. Colonial Waterbirds 13: 16-24.

Wanless S; Morris J. A; Harris M. P. 1988. Diving behavior of guillemot uria-aalge, puffin fratercula-arctica and razorbill alca-torda as shown by radio-telemetry. Journal of Zoology 216: 73-81.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Uria aalge. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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